Apparatus for extracting drugs and the like



H. BREDDIN June 30; 1936.

APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING DRUGS AND THE LIKE Filed April 4. 1934 9 a 0 II'IIIIIIIIIIIIl/n 51:55:25?" llllllIl||IlIJ|lll\\\|1|'1| l||\lll\IlIlllllllllllll &

2v an M 3 2 I 5 i-.- I I l l l I l l l l l I l 1 I l mfli x llllll lllllulllll lul w l Il-H "o lfl M M u w o H a m m a w @a m 5 Mr 6 5 v d T a w m 96 & .fi T E i J 00 a/////////// A /H Jnvemor: Hez'nricb B e ddin Patented June 30, 1936 t .UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING DRUGS AND THE LIKE Heinrich Breddin, Kirchhain, Germany Application April 4, 1934, Serial No. 719,047 In Germany October 21, 1932 6 Claims. (Cl. 87-28) The invention relates to apparatus for ex- Fig. 7 is a plan view of the attaching device. tracting drugs and the like in accordance with The storage vessel I, serves to receive the the method, in which the extraction fluid is slowquantity of extraction fluid required for the ly forced through one or several tubular vesoperation and the displacement fluid necessary sels connected one behind the other, which vesfor expelling it from the extraction tubes. This 5 sels are filled with the comminuted drugs, so vessel I takes the form for example, of a presthat the advance particles of fluid may enrich Su e-p o tightly Sealehle glass vessel- The themselves to a very high degree with the exsealing plug 2 of this vessel is traversed by an tract substances whilst the portions of the exascension pipe 3 reaching almost to its bottom traction fluid, which flow through later, and and a tubular branch 4 which, underneath its 10 which are displaced by another neutral fluid, abupp tight Connection W h the body of t e sorb the originally remaining extract substances tube 3, h s tWO lateral branch p p 5 until the drugs are exhausted almost completely. Which the One Connected o a pneumatic p The object of the invention is an apparatus s rep mp. omp f r examp ahand p 15 designed for efliciently carrying out this extracated bulb I P o d With pressure d Suction '15 tion process, which enables given quantities of valves, whilst the other one is connected to 9. drugs to be lixiviated with relatively small quanpressure gauge tities of extraction fluid and makes possible the An adjustable th e d v e serving to 0 direct recovery of highly concentrated extracts, trOl the Sp Of fl is a ed t e p of at the same time avoiding the disadvantages of the as s p p 3, a d consists p ra ly f 20 inspissating or drying by evaporation, a short piece of rubber tubing 9, which is pro- The essentially novel feature of the apparatus Vided W a filling Consisting of a p of consists in that the more r 1 large number wick or a loose bundle of fibres and lies between of extraction tubes, which serve to receive the the tWO Pressure Plates 12 Of a P $0 drugs to be extracted and which are linked up that by means of the pressure Screw of same. h 25 50 Fig. 4 is a large-scale vertical section of the by intermediate tubular members, are connected Wick filling l0 may be more 188$ Compressedup to a storage vessel which is associated with The upp d o the tubing 0f the throttle devices for putting same under pressure, and device is connected through a bend l3 to a latin providing special auxiliary m a h h are eral nipple I4 of a float chamber I5 in the form interposed in a tubular connection between said' Of Vertieel glass tube- T Chamber Contains 30 vessel and the extraction tubes and which pera fleet, is, Which in the raised Position Shuts mit a very slow influx of the extraction and dis- 01f the lower inlet opening of the tube l1, arplacement fluid to the extraction tubes. The ed at the upp e d of t e f oat Chamber. speed of flow is accurately controlled and the The bottom end of t float chamber termiexceedingly high resistance to flow, of which th nates in a downwardly directed tube I8, which 35 delivery of fluid is made independent, is al protrudes into a sight-feed or visible drip chamovercome. ber I9, consisting of a further piece of transpar- The invention will be better understood by refent glass tubing, the Said tube passing through erence to the accompanying drawing in which a Sealing pp at the t p o the chamber.

40 Figure 1 shows an extraction apparatu At the bottom end of this drip tube l8 there is 40 structed in accordance with the invention partly Check a ve 20, which only allows egress from in elevation and partly in vertical section. the tube into the Visible drip chamber but F'jg 21S a sectional View upon an enlarged Scale prevents passage in the reverse direction. The taken longitudinally through the blowmfi valve of check valve is preferably of soft rubber after the the device niialnnefr of the will-known lip glglvehwthich gon- 45 s s s o a connec ing s eeve wi a a tene -ofl iifiifgil ifihittif titif' tits; of Fig 1 The bottom tube 22 of the visible drip chamber I 9 is joined by a union 23 to the bend 25 forming the bottom connection to the first extraction tube check valve 24. The other end of the extraction tube is joined 5 a View Of Same from below, up to the next extraction tube 26 by an interme- Fig. 6 is a front elevation of an auxiliary dediate tube 21 leading to the bottom end of same. vice for attaching the combined float and visible Any number of extraction tubes may be used and 65 drip feed chambers to the first extraction tube, each connected with the preceding one by an intermediate tube. The last of these extraction tubes terminates in an outlet 28 in the form of a double bend under whose bottom orifice is the collecting vessel 29. The object of the float valve I6 is merely to close the exhaust tube IT, as long as liquid is forced from the supply tank through the float chamber l5. If, after exhausting the supply of liquid, compressed air instead of the liquid passes into the float chamber from the supply tank, so that the liquid in the float chamber is gradually expelled through the back pressure valve 20, the float will sink and thereby open the lower aperture of the exhaust tube l1. Through the latter, the air still present in the supply vessel and under a certain pressure will escape into the open air. Also the air contained in the auxiliary chamber I9 is under the hydraulic excess pressure of the column of liquid filling the tubes 24, 26 and the intermediate tube 21. It may happen that in one of these tubes or containers air cushions are enclosed which, after the actuating air pressure in the supply tank I is exhausted may expand backward and may, just as the hydraulic pressure does, drive liquid from the neighboring extraction tube 24 back into the auxiliary chamber I9. The object of the back pressure valve 20 is to prevent by such action the passage of the quantity of air contained in the auxiliary chamber into the open air through the float chamber I 5. The retention of the air normally contained in the auxiliary chamber by means of the back pressure valve is necessary in order to be able to notice the falling of the drops.

The double tubular member formed of the combined float chamber l5 and the visible drip chamber 19 may, in this form, be advantageously attached to the body of the first extraction tube 24, which, like the remaining portions of the apparatus, is detachably mountedon a suitable frame or stand.

The attachment of the double tubular member may be effected by means of an intermediate mounting member 30 consisting of a block of wood or the like and having one side face formed with a longitudinal channel 3| in which rests the body of the extraction tube 24. This mounting member has its opposite side face formed with a similar longitudinal channel 3| which is parallel with the first one and in which fit the combined tubular body of the visible drip chamber and float chamber. The parts are preferably secured by elastic bands which are attached to the block by fasteners 34 and are drawn round the three glass bodies and have theirends detachably secured to each other by means of buttons and button holes 35.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a vertically disposed extraction chamber having an outlet at its top and an inlet at its bottom, a liquid supply vessel, a discharge tube leading upwardly from said vessel and having its lower end adjacent the bottom of the vessel, means for supplying compressed air to the upper portion of said vessel for forcing liquid therefrom ,through said tube, an auxiliary chamber disposed vertically adjacent one side of the extraction chainber and having .its lower end communicating with the lower end of the extraction chamber, a delivery chamber disposed vertically above the auxiliary chamber and having a discharge nozzle extending from its bottom down into the auxiliary chamber, said tube communicating with the delivery chamber in spaced relation to its lower end, said delivery chamber having an outlet at its upper end, means in said delivery chamber responsive to the level of liquid in the delivery chamber for controlling fiow of air through the air outlet, and means carried by the lower end of said nozzle for retarding the liquid and eifect- 5 ing a drop by drop delivery of liquid from the nozzle of the delivery chamber into the auxiliary chamber.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a cylindrical vertically disposed extraction cham- 10 her having an outlet at its top and an inlet at its bottom, a liquid supply vessel, a discharge tube extending upwardly from said vessel and having its lower end adjacent the bottom of the vessel, means for supplying compressed air to the upper 15 portion of said vessel for forcing liquid through the tube, an auxiliary chamber disposed vertically adjacent one side of the extraction chamber and having its lower end communicating with the inlet at the lower end of the extraction chamber, 20 a delivery chamber disposed vertically above the auxiliary chamber and having an air outlet at its upper end, a discharge nozzle extending from the lower end of said delivery chamber down into the upper end of the auxiliary chamber, said tube 25 communicating with the delivery chamber in spaced relation to the lower end thereof, means responsive to the level of liquid in the delivery chamber for controlling flow of air through the air outlet, an intermediate portion of said tube being formed of compressible material, a filling of fibrous material in the flexible tube section, a clamp about the flexible tube section having a stationary jaw and a movable jaw engaging the flexible tube section from opposite sides, means 35 for forcing the movable jaw towards the stationary jaw to compress the flexible tube section and filling and regulating flow of liquid through the tube into the delivery chamber,.and means carried by the nozzle for retarding flow of liquid and effecting a drop by drop delivery of liquid from the nozzle of the delivery chamber into the auxiliary chamber.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a cylindrical vertically disposed extraction cham- 45 ber having an outlet at its top and an inlet at its bottom, a liquid supply vessel, a discharge tube extending upwardly from said vessel and having its lower end adjacent the bottom of the vessel, means for supplying compressed air to the upper portion of said vessel for forcing liquid through the tube, an auxiliary chamber disposed vertically adjacent one side of said extraction chamber and having its lower end communicating with the inlet at the lower end of the extraction chamber, a delivery chamber disposed vertically above the auxiliary chamber and having an air outlet at its upper end, a discharge nozzle extending from the bottom of said delivery chamber down into the upper end at the auxiliary chamber, said tube communicating with the delivery chamber in spaced relation to the bottom thereof, means controlled by level of liquid in the delivery chamber for controlling flow of air through the air outlet, means for controlling flow of liquid through the tube into the delivery chamber, and means carried by the lower end of the nozzle for retarding flow of liquid and effecting a drop by drop delivery of liquid from the nozzle into the auxiliary chamber. 7

4. In an apparatusof the character described, a cylindrical vertically disposed extraction chamber having an outlet at its top and an inlet at its bottom,'a liquid supply vessel, a discharge tube extending upwardly from said vessel and having its lower end adjacent the bottom oi the vessel, means for supplying compressed air to the upper portion of said vessel, for forcing liquid through the tube, an auxiliary chamber disposed vertically adjacent one side of said extraction chamber and having its lower end communicating with the inlet at the lower end of the extraction chamber, a delivery chamber disposed vertically above the auxiliary chamber and having an air outlet at its top, a discharge nozzle extending from the bottom of said delivery chamber down into the upper end of the auxiliary chamber, said tube communicating with the delivery chamber in spaced relation to the bottom thereof, means for controlling flow of liquid through the tube into the deliverychamber, a float in said delivery chamber movable vertically therein from a position for closing the air outlet to a lowered position for opening the air outlet, and an elastic nipple fitting about the lower end of said nozzle with its lower portion projecting from the nozzle and flattened to retard flow of liquid from the nozzle and cut to provide a diagonally extending lower edge from which liquid will be delivered drop by drop from the nozzle into the auxiliary chamber.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, a cylindrical verticallydisposed extraction chamber having an outlet at its top and an inlet at its bottom, a liquid supply vessel, a discharge tube extending upwardly from said vessel and having its lower end adjacent the bottom of the vessel, means for supplying compressed air to the upper portion or said vessel for forcing liquid through the tube, an auxiliary chamber disposed vertically in spaced relation to one side of said extraction chamber and havingits lower end communicating with the inlet at the lower end of the extraction chamber, a delivery chamber disposed vertically above the auxiliary chamber and having an air outlet at its upper end and a discharge nozzle extending from its lower end into the upper end or the auxiliary chamber, a float valve in the delivery chamber for controlling flow of air through the outlet, a block extending vertically between the extraction chamber and the auxiliary chamber and delivery chamber, securing means carried by said block and engaged about said chambers, said tube communicating with the auxiliary chamber above the lower end thereof, and means carried by the nozzle for retarding flow of liquid through the nozzle and efiecting a drop by drop delivery of liquid from the nozzle into the auxiliary chamber.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a cylindrical vertically disposed extraction chamber having an outlet at its top and an inlet at its bottom, a liquid supply vessel, a discharge tube extending upwardly from said vessel and having its lower end adjacent the bottom of the vessel, means for supplying compressed air to the upper portion of said vessel for forcing liquid through the tube, an auxiliary chamber disposed vertically adjacent one side 01 the extraction chamber and having its lower end communicating with the inlet at the lower end of the extraction chamber, a delivery chamber disposed vertically above said auxiliary chamber, a nozzle extending from the lower end of the delivery chamber into the upper end of the auxiliary chamber, said delivery chamber being provided with an air outlet at its top, said tube communicating with the delivery chamber above its lower end, a float valve in the delivery chamber movable upwardly therein to a position for closing the air outlet and movable downwardly as liquid is exhausted from the supply chamber to uncover the air outlet and close the nozzle, and means carried by the nozzle for retarding flow of liquid through the nozzle and effecting a drop by drop delivery oi. liquid from the nozzle into the auxiliary chamber.

HEINRICH BREDDIN. 

